THIS WEEK IN MILITARY HISTORY
August 12th
1099 – Battle of Ascalon. Crusaders defeat Egyptians. 1st Crusade
1332 – Battle of Dupplin. Edward Baliol and rebel Scots barons defeat a superior army led by King David of Scotland.
1450 - Siege of Cherbourg. England’s last stronghold in Normandy lost as they surrender to French forces.
1687 – Battle of Mohacz (2nd). Austrians and Hungarians led by Louis of Baden defeat Ottoman Turks decisively. Ottoman Wars.
1759 - Battle of Kunersdorf. Russian and Austrian Army under Gen. Soltikof hand Frederick the Great and his 40,000 man Prussian army a stinging defeat. Seven Years War
1900 – Siege of Peking. International Forces led by Great Britain relieve the siege.
August 13th
1521 – Siege of Tenochtitlan – Hernan Cortés and his men enter the city after a three month siege then lay waste to it and slaughtered many of the inhabitants. End of Aztec Empire. Cortés now rules all of Mexico.
1704 – Battle of Blenheim. Duke of Marlborough and his Anglo-Dutch army deliver a decisive defeat to the French and Bavarians. Establishes Marlborough as one of the world’s great commanders. War of Spanish Succession.
August 14th
1385 – Battle of Aljubarrota – Portugese defeat John of Castille preserving independence.
1678 – battle of Mons – William of Orange defeated by French Army. War of Grand Alliance..
1870 – Battle of Colombey. Bazaine’s forces recover from the rout of two of his divisions to keep Prussians at bay. Franco-Prussian War
1898 – U.S. Forces capture Manila. Spanish American War
August 15th
1744 – Frederick II of Prussia invades Saxony beginning 2nd Silesian War.
1944 – Operation Dragoon begins. Allied landings in the South of France. World War II
1945 – VJ Day. World War II comes to an End
August 16th.
1513 – Battle of the Spurs – English and German Forces under Henry VIII of England defeat French Army
1780 – Battle of Camden. British forces under Cornwallis defeat Horation Gates and his Army. American War of Independence
1870 – Battle of Mars-la-Tour. French attempt to breakout from the Fortress of Metz is defeated.
August 17th
1812 – Battle of Smolensk. Napoleon’s Grand Army defeat a rearguard Russian Army retreating before them. Napoloeonic Wars – 1812 Campaign.
1808 – Battle of Rolica. Peninsular War
August 18th
1870 Battle of Gravelotte St. Privat. Franco Prussian War
August 19th
1071
- Battle of ManzikertAsia Minor falls to the Seljut Turks after this decisive battle in which they defeated Byzantine forces
- Battle of ManzikertAsia Minor falls to the Seljut Turks after this decisive battle in which they defeated Byzantine forces1504- Battle of the Hill of AxesEarl of Kildare defeats De Burgh of Clanicard at Knockdoe, then enters Galway.Irish WarsAugust 20th
636- Battle of YarmukSyria remains in Muslim hands after Byzantine defeat
- Battle of YarmukSyria remains in Muslim hands after Byzantine defeat1451- Capture of Bayonne.Count of Dunois defeat English.One Hundred Years War1914- Capture of BrusselsBelgian army forced to retreat after Germans enter cityWorld War I1944- Battle of Falaise Ends50,000 Germans surrender to Allies after being surrounded.World War IIAugust 21st
1573- Battle of AlkmaarDutch Defeat Austrians
- Battle of AlkmaarDutch Defeat Austrians1808- Battle of VimieroBritish under Wellington defeat FrenchPeninsular War1861- Raid on LawrenceWilliam Quantril's raid on this small town leads to massacre of 150 peopleAmerican Civil WarAugust 22nd
1138- Battle of the StandardEnglish bowmen defeat Scots undr King DavidAnglo-Scottish Wars
- Battle of the StandardEnglish bowmen defeat Scots undr King DavidAnglo-Scottish Wars1485- Battle of Bosworth FieldRichard III defeated and killed by forces led by Henry Tudor War of the Roses1884-Battle of FoochowFrench Fleet under Admiral Courbet defeat Chinese fleet of Warships & JunksFranco-Chinese WarAugust 23rd
1515- Battle of ChaldiranOttoman Janissaries under Sultan Selim defeat Persian Army
- Battle of ChaldiranOttoman Janissaries under Sultan Selim defeat Persian Army1839- Capture of Hong Kong British forces occupy this Chinese TerritoryOpium War1914- Retreat from Mons British Army begin an orderly retreat from Mons from numerically superior forcesWorld War IAugust 24th
1572 - St. Bartholomew's Day MassacreFrench Huguenots massacred by Roman Catholics in ParisFrench Religious Wars
- St. Bartholomew's Day MassacreFrench Huguenots massacred by Roman Catholics in ParisFrench Religious Wars1824Battle of AyacuchoPeruvian Forces under xxxxxx defeat Spanish Army and gain independencePeruvian War of Independence1914Battle of Le CateauBritish Army fights a rearguard action against Germans. Slows their advance but does not end retreat.World War IAugust 25th
1580- Battle of AlcantraSpain gains Portugal after defeating Portugese armySpanish-Portugese Wars
- Battle of AlcantraSpain gains Portugal after defeating Portugese armySpanish-Portugese Wars1904- Battle of Liao YangRussians engaged in fierce battle with Japanese. Forced to retret to Mukden.Russo-Japanese War1944- Paris Surrenders.Germans surrender Paris to Allies in Luxembourg PalaceWorld War IIAugust 26th
BC 55- Ceasar Lands in BritainDespite some resistance, Julia Ceasar lands on English CoastRoman Empire Wars
- Ceasar Lands in BritainDespite some resistance, Julia Ceasar lands on English CoastRoman Empire Wars1346- Battle of CrecyEnglish under the Black Prince defeat the FrenchOne Hundred Years War1813- Battle of KatzbachFrench suffer reverse as Blucher's army confronts them inflicting over 15,000 casualtiesNapoleonic Wars1914- Battle of TannenbergDecisive Victory by Germans under Hindenburg and Ludendorf as they crush Russian 2nd Army under Samsonov- World War I
- Battle of TannenbergDecisive Victory by Germans under Hindenburg and Ludendorf as they crush Russian 2nd Army under Samsonov- World War I1940- Berlin Bombed by RAFBritish bombers surprise Germans in this inconclusive but daring raid on the German capital.World War IIAugust 27th
1626 - Battle of Lutter Imperial. Army led by Cout Tilly smash Danes and Protestant Germans under Christian IV Thirty Years War
1896 - Bombardment of Zanzibar. The shortest war in history lasted only 38 minutes after this action by British Forces
August 28th
1914 - Battle of Heligoland Bight. Royal Navy warships put German naval ships to flight in first naval encounter of the war. World War I
August 29th
489 - Battle of The Isonzo River. Goths under Theodoric decisively defeat Odacer and his Army
1350 - Battle of Winchelsea. English defeat Spanish in first battle to use cannon at sea. One Hundred Years War
1526 - Battle of Mohacz. Turks defeat Hungarians as over 100,000 of the Sultans men overwhelm 30,000 Hungarians Turkish-Hungarian Wars
August 30th
1781 - Battle of Chesapeake Capes. French fleet defeats British in Chesapeake Bay American Revolution
1862 - Battle of Bull Run (2nd). Longstreet prevents envelopment by Gen. Popes Union forces American Civil War
1942 - Battle of Alam Halfa. R.A.F. planes help British armoured forces to stop Rommel's advance World War II
1944 Battle of Ploesti Soviet forces capture Rumanian oil fields denying them to Germans. World War II
August 31st
1591 - Battle of the Azores. HMS Revenge fights of Spanish fleet despite the death of Sir Richard Grenville. Anglo-Spanish Wars
1813 - Capture of San Sebastian. British forces finally take city after six weeks of fighting Peninsular War
September 1st
1870 - Battle of Sedan. Decisive battle as French forces under Napoleon III surrender to Prussians. End of 2nd Empire. Franco-Prussian War
September 2nd
BC 31 - Battle of Actium. Octavian defeats Anthony and Clopatra in decisive sea battle. End of Roman Civil War Roman Civil Wars
1644 - Battle of Lostwithiel. Royalist forces defeat Parliamentarians, 80% of whom are captured. English Civil War
1898 - Battle of Omdurman. British Defeat Dervishes ending the 2nd Sudan War and adding the Sudan to the British Empire. 2nd Sudan War
September 3rd
1939 - World War II Begins. British Declare War on Hitler's Germany World War II
1939 - Battle for Poland. Sixty German Divisions under Gen. Von Brauchitch overrun Polish Army. World War II
September 4th
1914 - Capture of Dar-Es Salaam. East African Port siezed by the British Royal Navy. Does not end German resistance in East Africa. World War I
September 5th
1634 - Battle of Nordlingen (1st). Swedish and German forces defeated by Imperial Armies Thirty Years War
September 6th
1914 - Battle of Marne. Decisive battle for France begins as Allies take advantage of von Kluck's decision to move his armies east instead of continuing to extend his advance to the West of Paris World War I
September 7th
1706 - Battle of Turin. French defeated by Eugene of Savoy's first victory in Italy. War of Spanish Succession
1812 - Battle of Borodino. Napoleon's forces overcome vigourous Russian resistance in a bloody battle with over 30,000 casualties on both sides. Napoleonic Wars
September 8th
1429 - Attempt on Paris. Joan of Arc wounded in this unsuccesful bid to recapture the city from the English occupation Army. Hundred Years War.
1565 - Siege of Malta. Ottoman forces withdraw after the Knight's Hospitalers heroically prevent them from gaining a foothold on the Island.
1798 - Battle of Bullinamuck. French surrender after an unsucesful invasion of Ireland in support of Irish Independence.
1831 - Siege of Warsaw. Poles surrender the city to Russians thus ending their insurrection.
1863 - Battle of Sabine River. Union invasion of Texas from Louisiana halted by Confederate Force at the mouth of Sabine River. American Civil War.
1941 - Siege of Leningrad Begins. Germans invest the city at the beginning of its 900 day siege. World War II
1943 - Italy abandons its German ally and joins the Allies. World War II
1944 - Germany launches the first V2 attack on Paris. World War II.
September 17th
1862 - The Battle of Antietam Creek. American Civil War.
Beginning with attacks by Gen. George B. McLennan against Lee's army dug in behind Antietam creek the opposing forces attacked and counterattacked while the battle raged around the Dunker church. About midday, Gen. Ambrose Burnsides forces captured the stone bridge over the creek, but the arrival of Confederate General A.P.Hill's division from Harpers Ferry drove him him back. Despite being outnumbered two to one, Lee faught the Union army to a standstill. He was finally forced to retreat allowing the Union to claim some sort of victory.
Battle of Blenheim. 13th August, 1704
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Battle of Tannenberg. August 26th, 1914
Battle of Borodino. September 7th, 1812
Battle of Antietam. September 7th, 1861
